Effector-Mediated Pathogenicity

The study of novel plant pathogen effectors, their characterization, and the ways in which the plant immune system recognizes them is still gaining momentum. For cataloguing these effector proteins, new scientific high-throughput methods along with bioinformatics have been used. Validating and describing these potential effectors presents a challenge for the researchers in their quest to learn more about the relationships between different effector proteins and the signal transduction pathways that these proteins employ to enter host cells. Numerous putative effectors with unknown functions have been discovered. Effectors’ interactions with mobile elements are linked to the expansion of disease-supporting effectors and genomic reorganizations. We discuss in this chapter the impact of posttranslational changes on effectors or host proteins along with the latest advancements in the field. Research should therefore concentrate on how infections alter host cells for their own purposes.